5 observations on Marty Hurney's firing as Panthers GM

The Panthers fired general manager Marty Hurney on Monday.

John Clark/Halifax Media Group

By Gabe Whisnant

Published: Monday, October 22, 2012 at 04:29 PM.

After filing my column last night, driving back from the Panthers’ 19-14 loss to Dallas, I thought, “If this team doesn’t make significant improvements in the final 10 games, there could be some big changes.”

Given it seemed too soon for Ron Rivera, in his second full season and first with a true offseason, my immediate thoughts were either offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski or general manager Marty Hurneymay have to go.

The answer ended up being the latter, for now, and sooner than I — or many — expected. It strayed from the franchise’s M.O. of patience and holding off on big moves until the end of the season, but the team’s GM since 2002 is now gone.

Here are a few quick observations about Hurney’sremoval.

1. I don’t agree with the move, overall. If there was a GM-in-waiting that was going to have the opportunity to evaluate the team through the season and into the offseason, I could more understand. It doesn’t seem like Brandon Beane, who will oversee operations, is that guy. “The buck” will apparently stop with Rivera on personnel issues, which puts a lot of responsibility on a second-year coach trying to right the ship amid a 1-5 season.

2. I don’t think anything Cam Newton said or did at the press conference had anything to do with the firing. The loss to the Cowboys seemed to be a tipping point, but I don’t think Newton’s body language or comments about play-calling steered Monday’s events.

3. It seems as if owner Jerry Richardson has now put Rivera, Chudzinski, the rest of the coaching staff and veteran players on notice. Rivera is signed through 2014, but a new GM isn’t going to have any ties to the current regime.

After filing my column last night, driving back from the Panthers’ 19-14 loss to Dallas, I thought, “If this team doesn’t make significant improvements in the final 10 games, there could be some big changes.”

Given it seemed too soon for Ron Rivera, in his second full season and first with a true offseason, my immediate thoughts were either offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski or general manager Marty Hurneymay have to go.

The answer ended up being the latter, for now, and sooner than I — or many — expected. It strayed from the franchise’s M.O. of patience and holding off on big moves until the end of the season, but the team’s GM since 2002 is now gone.

Here are a few quick observations about Hurney’sremoval.

1. I don’t agree with the move, overall. If there was a GM-in-waiting that was going to have the opportunity to evaluate the team through the season and into the offseason, I could more understand. It doesn’t seem like Brandon Beane, who will oversee operations, is that guy. “The buck” will apparently stop with Rivera on personnel issues, which puts a lot of responsibility on a second-year coach trying to right the ship amid a 1-5 season.

2. I don’t think anything Cam Newton said or did at the press conference had anything to do with the firing. The loss to the Cowboys seemed to be a tipping point, but I don’t think Newton’s body language or comments about play-calling steered Monday’s events.

3. It seems as if owner Jerry Richardson has now put Rivera, Chudzinski, the rest of the coaching staff and veteran players on notice. Rivera is signed through 2014, but a new GM isn’t going to have any ties to the current regime.

4. A good chunk of the fanbase likes this move. Judging by Facebook, Twitter and story comments, a number of Panthers fans are glad to see Hurney gone. The lows were too low and impact draft picks were too sparse during the Hurneyregime. I get it. I just question the timing.

5. The next GM needs to make the wide receiver position the No. 1 priority, not that Hurney didn’t try to address this through the years. If Newton is going to flourish, he needs weapons. Several legit downfield weapons, not just one good receiver and one good tight end.